The Miracle on Ice

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=538501

A couple of year ago, I made a trip to Lake Placid, New York. I had always wanted to go there, and I've heard that the Fall season was beautiful this time of year.

When I got there, I was surprised by how tiny this little town, that has hosted 2 Winter Olympic Games really was. (It has around 1000 people living in town) Here was this little piece of picture-esque village nestled in the heart of the Adirondack mountains, and it seemed like nobody knew about it. The hotel room backed onto Mirror Lake, and waking up in the morning and looking out over that lake on the balcony with a coffee in my hand, before the sunrise was something right out of a Robert Frost poem. Such beauty, that a camera just couldn't capture it all.

However, I was on a mission to venture across the street to see the Herb Brooks Arena, and visit the venue that played host to the 1980 upset known as "The Miracle on Ice." -I was pumped.
I couldn't wait to get inside and inhale that smell that only a hockey rink has, see the dressing rooms where those historic players once stood, and walk on that ice almost 30 years after the greatest sports story had taken place. I was like a little boy in a candy store.

But sadly, this little boy was greatly disappointed. There was no guided tour or otherwise of the arena, nothing in Dressing room #5, where Team USA prepared for that historic game, and not much merchandise to buy. How was this possible?!

If I knew one thing about Americans, it was that they love their sports. All you have to do is go to Texas and you will see that an average High School there would have more funding and interest than the Herb Brooks Arena has to commemorate what Sports Illustrated called "The greatest sports story of the century"

Sad, but true.

But now, after squawking about this for 2 years now, things are starting to get rolling. Fundraising has started and we are now preparing to make the first steps to renovating Herb Brooks Arena to turn it into a walking museum and preserve its legacy in it's rightful place.

So if you are a hockey enthusiast, I encourage you to visit this beautiful town, but more importantly, please contribute a tax-deductible donation to:

Olympic Center

C/O Liz DeFazio, Museum Curator


2634 Main St.

Lake Placid, NY 12946

Phone: 800 462 6236 / 518 523 1655

Email: info@orda.org